Panasonic ZS40 vs Sony A290

Its time to look more closely at the Panasonic ZS40 versus Sony A290, one is a Small Sensor Superzoom and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Panasonic and Sony. There is a crucial difference between the resolutions of the ZS40 (18MP) and A290 (14MP) and the ZS40 (1/2.3") and A290 (APS-C) posses totally different sensor dimensions.

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The ZS40 was brought out 3 years after the A290 which is quite a serious gap as far as tech is concerned. Both cameras have different body design with the Panasonic ZS40 being a Compact camera and the Sony A290 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting straight to a complete comparison, here is a quick summary of how the ZS40 grades versus the A290 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS40 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A290. The entire galleries are available at Panasonic ZS40 Gallery and Sony A290 Gallery.

In case you're going to travel with your camera often, you need to factor its weight and volume. The Panasonic ZS40 has got exterior dimensions of 111mm x 64mm x 34mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.3") along with a weight of 240 grams (0.53 lbs) and the Sony A290 has sizing of 128mm x 97mm x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4") along with a weight of 549 grams (1.21 lbs).

Take a look at the Panasonic ZS40 versus Sony A290 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you select during that time. Following is a front view physical size comparison of the ZS40 and the A290.

Looking at size and weight, the portability rating of the ZS40 and A290 is 90 and 66 respectively.

Usually, it's hard to visualise the difference between sensor dimensions purely by reviewing a spec sheet. The image here should give you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the ZS40 and A290.

Clearly, both cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The ZS40 featuring a tinier sensor will make achieving shallower depth of field trickier and the Panasonic ZS40 will offer you greater detail having its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop pics more aggressively. The newer ZS40 is going to have a benefit when it comes to sensor innovation.